Lasercut Braille Sheet

Introduction: Lasercut Braille Sheet

My research team and I wanted to make instructions for individuals who are visually impaired to assemble a DIY braille learning device, so we came up with this workflow to create a braille sheet in-house.

In this Instructable, I'll be showing you how to create a braille sheet using Acrylic and MDF as material. This hack is awesome to make a special someone smile!

Background information:

Every major braille-producing country has standards for the size and spacing of braille embossed on paper. In the United States and Canada, the nominal height of braille dots is 0.019 inches [0.48 mm]. The nominal base diameter of braille dots is 0.057 inches [1.44 mm]. I will be using the above standards this Instructable.

Step 2: Download Braille Font

Step 3: Design Your Base

Open Illustrator and create a black rectangle using the Shape tool, this will act as your base or “paper”.

Make sure that you have an outline to your rectangle with the thickness of 0.0076 inch to allow the laser cutter to cut it out, instead of rastering. (It can also be color-mapped but this way is a lot easier)